Tuesday, April 6, 2010

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Eskendereya crushes foes in Wood
Eskendereya lived up to expectations, and perhaps exceeded them, with a dominating performance to win the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial under a hand ride from John Velazquez.

Noble's Promise sharp for Ark. Derby

Trainer Ken McPeek wanted a sharp work from Noble's Promise in his final prep for the Arkansas Derby and he got his wish on Saturday morning, when the horse breezed five furlongs in a bullet 1:00.80 at Oaklawn. The Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby will close out the Oaklawn meet this Saturday.


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<b>Horse</b> <b>racing</b> returns on April 10-11

Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:40 PM PDT

Horse racing is returning to the Cochise County Fairgrounds.

Fairgrounds Manager Karen Strongin announced last week enough state funding has been allocated this year allowing her to put on one weekend of horse racing.

Strongin said the dates she was given were April 10-11.

"We plan to have a nice variety of Thoroughbred and Quarter horse races," she said. "The track has been maintained and we're excited to be able to bring the races back to Douglas this year."

The El Moro de Cumpas trials will be held in Douglas that weekend with the finals to be in Sonoita for the second straight year. The Sonoita Derby Trials will also take place in Douglas as will the John Ray Memorial.

Strongin is hoping to have at least 10 races each of the two days.

With the economic situation the way it is there will be no increase in the price of the admission or the cost of the programs.

A St. Patrick's Day dance is scheduled for this Saturday (March 20) from 8 p.m. to midnight. Money raised will be used for the upcoming horse races. There will be door prizes and green beer. Tickets are $5.

"This board is determined to continue onward with all the traditions we have here," Strongin said. "We're like everybody else … in a funding crunch."

Kingman has cancelled its horse races this year and Safford is running just one weekend like Douglas.

Safford will run this March 20-21, then Strongin said there will be no races the next two weekends.

Douglas will have its races; there will be no racing April 17-18 with Sonoita running April 24-25 and May 1-2 which is Kentucky Derby weekend.

Strongin says what happened last year was beyond her on anyone's on the boards control and they would have loved to have had the horse races but with the timing of the state budget cuts that was just not possible.

"Our legislators are working really hard for us," she said. "They don't want to see this go away either. … They just had to wait and see what kind of funding was going to be available for the fourth quarter period.

"We want to race, we will race but we had to wait to hear from the state as to if any funds were going to be available to help us put on these races. We weren't sure if there was going to be any funding at all."

Some of the money from the state is also purse money, Strongin said.

The fairgrounds manager said she met individually which each of our state representatives and explained to them how important this event is for this area and they were able to come through for her this year.

"This event is very important for this area," she said. "People around here really like the races and look forward to us having them each year. … But it takes a lot of money to put this on."

Some horses are already starting to work out on the track. Strongin expects most of them to arrive around April 1.

Strongin says she is also looking for race sponsors and volunteers.

"If anybody in the community wants to volunteer to help do something out here and they don't have a criminal background, we would love to hear from them," she said.

 

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<b>Horse</b> <b>Racing</b> Capsules: Eskendereya No. 1 on AP list of Derby prospects

Posted: 06 Apr 2010 03:02 AM PDT

Eskendereya (es-ken-DRAY-uh) delivered a second straight overpowering victory, a 9¾-length romp over a strong field in Saturday's the Wood at Aqueduct. The chestnut colt trained by Todd Pletcher won the Fountain of Youth by 8½ lengths in his previous start Feb. 20.

At the Santa Anita, favorite Lookin At Lucky was squeezed at the rail and forced to hold up in his bid to win but eventually finished third behind Sidney's Candy. Lucky's rider Garrett Gomez punched the rider of the horse who cut him off, then Lucky's trainer Bob Baffert called Gomez's ride "horrendous."

Victor Espinoza, the rider of Who's Up — the horse who angled in on Lookin At Lucky — was suspended three days for his action Sunday; Gomez was fined $750 for punching Espinoza after the race.

The race results produced a change atop the AP's latest Run to the Roses Top 10 list of Kentucky Derby contenders: Eskendereya moves up to No. 1, Lookin At Lucky drops to No. 2.

Even Pletcher — 0-for-24 in his quest to win the Derby — was feeling confident about his chances with Eskendereya.

"We've never had a horse we knew could handle the mile-and-a-quarter and we've never had one put together a couple of preps like this one," Pletcher said of perhaps his best of at least seven Derby prospects. "We've had some good prep wins, but none as impressive as these two."

Lookin At Lucky remains a formidable contender, but the 3-year-old colt also had a troubled trip in winning the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 13.

"We're not the favorite anymore. We've dropped down a few notches," Baffert said. "California 3-year-olds are very good this year. They're tough."

Lookin At Lucky had been in the top spot for six straight weeks.

New additions to this week's list are Jackson Bend and American Lion. Jackson Bend was second in the Wood and moves in at No. 7 for trainer Nick Zito. American Lion is No. 10 after winning Saturday's Illinois Derby by 2¾ lengths over Yawanna Twist.

With just over three weeks before the Derby, another round of preps is set for Saturday with the Arkansas Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes.

No. 6 Noble's Promise and No. 9 Dublin, who ran second and third behind Lookin At Lucky in the Rebel, could be the top choices for the $1 million Arkansas Derby on dirt. Also likely is Pletcher's Super Saver, Pulsion and Uh Oh Bango.

At Keeneland, Tampa Bay Derby winner Odysseus and a pair of Pletcher-trained colts — Aikenite and Interactif — are among the field for the $750,000 Blue Grass on a synthetic surface. Also probable is Florida Derby runner-up Pleasant Prince.

The Derby field is limited to 20 starters. If more are entered, the field is determined by graded stakes earnings. Lookin At Lucky tops the list with $1,480,000, with Make Music for Me (set for the Blue Grass) ranked 20th with $215,000.

Among horses running Saturday outside the top 20 are Uh Oh Bango (21st), Odysseus (t-22nd), Super Saver (25th) and Pleasant Prince (26th).

1. Eskendereya (Todd Pletcher, trainer; John Velazquez, jockey): Wood romp makes it clear this is horse to beat on Derby day ... Next start: Kentucky Derby (May 1, Churchill Downs, dirt) ... Derby future wager odds: 5-1.

2. Lookin At Lucky (Bob Baffert, Garrett Gomez): Overcame being squeezed at rail for third in Santa Anita Derby ... Has now run into trouble in last two starts ... Next start: Kentucky Derby ... Odds: 9-2.

3. Ice Box (Nick Zito, Jose Lezcano): Florida Derby winner worked 4 furlongs in 49.00 Saturday at Palm Meadows ... Next start: Kentucky Derby ... Odds: 19-1.

4. Sidney's Candy (John Sadler, Joe Talamo): Wire-to-wire winner of Santa Anita Derby gives diet maven Jenny Craig's colt a sweep of West Coast preps ... Derby will be first start on dirt ... Next start: Kentucky Derby ... Odds: 22-1.

5. Mission Impazible (Pletcher, Rajiv Maragh): Louisiana Derby winner another of Todd's squad of Derby-bound colts ... Next start: Kentucky Derby ... Odds: 9-2 (mutuel field).

6. Noble's Promise (Ken McPeek, Robby Albarado): Rebel runner-up could be favorite in Arkansas this weekend ... Worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.80 Saturday at Oaklawn ... Next start: Arkansas Derby (Saturday, Oaklawn Park, dirt) ... Odds: 19-1.

7. Jackson Bend (Zito, Calvin Borel): Back on list after running distant second in Wood ... Second in last three starts, twice beaten by Eskendereya ... Owner Robert LaPenta also owns Ice Box ... Next start: Kentucky Derby ... Odds: 46-1.

8. Awesome Act (Jeremy Noseda, Julien Leparoux): Gotham winner had bad start in Wood, but still managed third ... Slow pace didn't help, either ... Next start: Kentucky Derby ... Odds: 13-1.

9. Dublin (D. Wayne Lukas, Corey Nakatani): Big chance to step up for Lukas' best Derby prospect in years ... Worked 5 furlongs in 1:01.80 Sunday at Oaklawn ... Next start: Arkansas Derby ... Odds: 18-1.

10. American Lion (Eoin Harty, David Flores): Front-running Illinois Derby win over dirt encouraging sign after slow 2010 start ... Could be one of several Derby starters for WinStar Farm ... Odds: 9-2 (mutuel field)

Keep and eye on: Conveyance, Dean's Kitten, Endorsement, Odysseus, Super Saver.

Wilburn brings top price at Keeneland sale

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A colt from the first crop of Bernardini brought $625,000 to top sales Monday at Keeneland's April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

Wilburn was purchased by Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables and consigned by William M. Helmbrecht, agent. Wilburn is out of Moonlight Sonata, a winner of the Grade III Arlington-Washington Lassie, and is a half-brother to Beethoven, a winner of the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club.

Gross sales, median price and number of horses sold were all higher at this year's sale, which contained just one session, compared with two last year.

Keeneland sold 71 horses for gross receipts of $12,013,000, up 1.76 percent from 2009 when 66 horses brought $11,805,000.

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Zero tolerance rule for W.Va. <b>horse</b> races upheld

Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:33 AM PDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A unanimous state Supreme Court is keeping the horse that won the 2007 West Virginia Breeders Classic out of the running for the purse.

The justices upheld the state Racing Commission's zero tolerance rule that prohibits any drugs in a horse's system.

The owners of Eastern Delite argued that the rule was unconstitutionally arbitrary after the horse tested positive for caffeine following the race. The horse was disqualified from receiving the $225,000 purse.

Fred and Sharon Johnson cited expert testimony that likened the amount of caffeine to a teaspoon of coffee. They said their horse likely ingested a spilled drink, and that it played no role in the race.

Monday's decision calls the rule a reasonable way for the commission to keep drugs out of horse racing.

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